Life After Capture
by I483
Summary: A new domesticated Spix Macaw is in Rio, and nothing good can come of it. Join him as he tries to survive in the wild after being captured by smugglers and escaping. T mainly for swearing, but there is gore as well.
1. A Happy Life Does Not Last

**Disclaimer: Don't own Rio or anything about it. (Who do you think I am? The city's mayor?)**

**Life After Capture**

Chapter 1: A Happy Life Does Not Last

My owner and I had a very good relationship.

It was simple, really. He helped me, and I helped him.

Oh, how I wished it would stay that way.

The beginning of our journey was simple enough. He would drive the car down to O'Hare in Chicago, we would get on a plane, and we would be off.

Off to a new Mardi Gras, one that I have never been to before.

Off to Carnival, way off in Brazil.

We would stay for a weekend, enjoying the sights, watching the parades, doing everything that tourists usually do. We would fly in on Thursday night, and fly out on the morning of Ash Wednesday.

It was supposed to be simple, fun, enjoyable.

A nice way to get away from the hell that are Wisconsin winters.

Ah, Wisconsin. How are you able to stay the way you are, with -43˚F winters, followed six months later by 103˚F summers. In the same location!

How the hell is that even possible? Temperatures shouldn't be able to fluctuate that much!

And don't get me started on the weather. To back up these days, two feet of snowfall and negative twenty degree wind chills in the winter, and no clouds in the sky summers, drying up any hope of salvation.

Isn't Wisconsin fun?

Even with all of this, I still like it up here. The nearby art museum looks outstanding, even if I am only able to see it from the outside, and I love it when Summerfest rolls around. So much music in one place makes me almost want to dance with happiness.

Oh, how I would love to not have a care in the world anymore, to have fun, to do what I want.

To have a blast.

To be myself.

To be loved.

To do whatever I can for whoever I find.

This, of course, is not possible for a domesticated Spix Macaw.

Oh, how life could be simple.

Oh, how life could go to hell.

Oh, how I wish nothing had happened.

Oh, how I wish.

* * *

It started off simple enough. We landed in Brazil, and I vowed to myself, for the umpteenth time, to never ride on a plane again.

Of course, that would never happen. After all, I had to get on a plane to head back to the USA.

Our first day was uneventful, but still fun. We went to the beach, got some sun, explored Rio, and went to the shops.

A bland first day, but we were safe, at the very least.

I had to be carried around in my cage, as that was the safest way for me to go around at all. After all, smuggling was still rampant within the city, and, with the rarity of the Spix Macaws, I would fetch a high price on the black market.

I did not want to get smuggled, and my owner didn't want that either.

We were in the crowd with everyone else when we got jostled away from it by two larger men.

My owner didn't seem very pleased with this, but went along anyways. I saw why soon.

One of the men spoke. "Open the cage."

After a few moments of shaking at the door, it opened from my owner's hand. I flew out before they could reach me.

Suddenly, a bullet ripped through my right wing. I squawked in pain before roughly landing on the ground.

I felt a strong hand reach around my neck and squeeze. Any struggling would've made the situation worse than it already was, so I went didn't. All that I could do was executed with a bullet through the back of his head.

My happy life was over. I realized that, and felt tears well up in my eyes.

This couldn't be happening, I told myself. I'll just wake up, back in Wisconsin, in my bird cage, and nothing will be wrong.

Nothing at all.

Nothing.

Not a single thing.

Not...

What's the point? Practically the only living creature that I could call a friend was killed in front of my eyes.

How could I live like this?

How could I live when there is no one else in the world with me?

How can I?

How _will _I?

I was roughly thrown into a cage that the men were carrying. I fell on top of someone else, someone that had already been smuggled.

I quickly got to my feet before running to the front of the cage. I tried to open the door, but it was no use. They had already locked it, and I didn't know how to open the door without the lock, anyways.

I collapsed to the floor. What could I do?

What did I do to deserve this?

I was broken, mind and spirit completely shattered.

I found no good way out of this, even with my expansive mind.

It didn't do what it normally does, trying to be happy to myself and everyone around.

It was in panic. It was in fear. It was primitive.

My mind wasn't working right.

Where did I go wrong?

All of these questions bounced around, finding no answer, being forever stuck inside my head for the next few hours.

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard somebody say. I started, forgetting that the other person was there, before that feeling getting replaced by anger.

Did I seem okay? Did I look like I was fine?

Of course I'm not okay! I'm fucking _horrible _right now!

I turned around on the spot, feeling the vein above my left eye bulging, ready to practically fight the idiot who decided to ask such a stupid question on a moment's notice...

...before that feeling was replaced by shock and disbelief at the animal I was staring at.

It was _me. _A little bit smaller, and a lighter shade of blue, but still me._  
_

Another one of my kind. I thought we were, in all forms, extinct to the world.

Yet, there was another Spix Macaw, looking worse for wear, looking at me with a worried expression.

I tried to answer the question, but it got stuck in my throat. I never was a social butterfly, as the humans call it, and this situation just made it worse. After a few seconds, I finally got my answer out, but my voice was still shaky.

"N-n-no. I'm not v-v-v-very good right now."

I looked back at the door. All of the emotions were still there, swimming around my mind.

Anger, depression, worry, fear, and one other that I couldn't put my finger on.

A wing that wasn't mine was draped over my back, and I stiffened. The other macaw had come to my side and was trying to comfort me.

I relaxed a bit, and looked at the other macaw.

Female, I told myself. Feminine looks, especially with those eyes. Why did I not realize it with her voice?

I looked into her own eyes, and I saw emotions from her too.

She was scarred, she was worried.

She was sad, for what, I don't know.

But I saw another expression. Her eyes were saying, in a motherly fashion, that everything was going to be alright, that this wasn't the end.

And, then, I realized what the other expression from me was.

Hope.

Hope for me.

Hope for escape.

Hope to live a life outside of this.

Hope to be _free._

* * *

We were brought to the smuggler's den. It was far out of the city, and we couldn't see the sky through the dense foliage. It was obvious that they thought along the lines of "out of sight, out of mind."

The door opened, and I saw some light pour in through the blanket that covered the cage.

Blossom, the other macaw, had remained as calm as possible as we passed through the portal and into, in all likelihood, hell. She was terrified of what we would find when the blanket was removed.

So was I, but I had faced worse.

...

...

What the hell am I talking about?

Of course this is the worst thing to ever happen to me! I could possibly die from this!

The blanket was removed and I saw the men that captured us.

They were large, easily six feet tall and over two-hundred pounds. All of those pounds were muscle, and I can see why my owner gave up easily.

One was obviously Brazilian, and the other was Caucasian. They spoke in a weird mix of Brazilian Portuguese and English.

Not that I could speak or understand Portuguese, I was just told that by Blossom.

The Brazilian seemed to be the mastermind, the brains of the whole operation. The Caucasian wasn't stupid, either, but was obviously not the main creator of the plot against us.

"I can't believe our luck!" the Caucasian, who I found has a Northeastern-American accent, said. "First, we find a wild one, then we find a fool carrying one around!"

My face contorts. How dare he call my used-to-be owner a fool?

"I can't believe it either," the Brazilian says. "But lets not be _estupidos_ and leave the birds like this. You heard of the other Spix Macaws that found a way to get out from those three smugglers a year ago? They're still in jail. Let's not make the same mistake."

The Caucasian unlocked the door and opened it. Blossom could've flown away, but she was likely to be caught, and I had a bad wing, so we were trapped.

The man grabbed both of us by the neck, insuring that we couldn't use our beaks. The Brazilian then grabbed us by the talons, rendering them useless.

We were then exchanged so that each of them was holding one of us without the other's help.

I was first, I guess, as I was slammed against the table, nearly knocking me unconscious. With my wing flaring up in pain, and the possibility of a concussion, I didn't resist as the Brazilian wrapped me up in...something.

After a few minutes, I was placed back in the cage, and I heard another slam, which must've been Blossom. I flinched when I heard hers, not being able to when it was me that got slammed.

I looked at myself and noticed the jacket-like thing that I had on. I tried opening my wings, but they wouldn't budge.

Great. Jackets to keep us from flying away.

Not that I could fly, anyways. Blossom was another story, but I could tell that the feeling was mutual between us.

We were getting out of here with the other one alive, as well.

No matter what we had to do.

Blossom was put into the cage with me, before a chain that clasped tightly over our legs was added to my right leg and her left.

If they were going to do anything with us, we would be a pair.

We couldn't leave without the other one, now, even if we tried.

The lock was put back onto the cage, and we were put on the floor of a small back room.

No other birds were back here, and it was the only other door that I saw other than the entrance that this shack had.

They must have many of these, I realized, and each one is separate from the others, to keep them from being fined too highly if they were ever found.

And, if one is found, they wouldn't lose everything.

The two of them left with a friendly banter between them.

"So, what do you want to watch tonight?" the Caucasian asked. "After all, it is Packers versus Giants tonight!"

I could hear the Brazilian grimace. "You know that I find that _bobos_ sport you call 'football' stupid," he said. "You don't use your foot almost anywhere, and it is nothing like _futebol_."

The Caucasian laughed. "I'm joking! Relax! Besides, I heard that tonight's game is between Flamengo at Cruzeiro."

"That game's going to be _diversão_ and a_ção-embalados_" The Brazilian said, and the two talked their way out of the shack, turning the lights off in the process.

We were alone, in a cage, with no food and water, chained together, and, even if we did get out, we would be unable to fly.

"Welp," I said, making Blossom look at me. "Time to get to work."

* * *

I almost got it.

Almost there.

Come on...

"Shit!" I exclaimed as the pegs inside the lock reverted to their original positions.

It's been two hours, and I haven't had any luck with this lock. I never have tried lock-picking before, but, hey, their's a first time for everything.

Blossom was exhausted, and I was reaching that point, too, but, with how close I got, my body was filled with adrenaline.

Blossom and I had got to know each other a bit more, asking about each other's lives, and everything else that came to light.

Blossom was from the wild, as I had heard from the Caucasian before, and was living in solitude. She was exploring the outskirts of the city this afternoon when she got caught.

I told her my life story as a domesticated bird as she told hers. We were both fascinated by each other's stories.

"Need any help, Roy?" Blossom asked.

Yup, my name is Roy.

And I like it.

...What the hell, brain? I don't talk like that normally!

"No, no, I've almost got it," I said, tiredly.

I really did. One or two more tries, and I would have this door open in no time.

After a few more minutes, I nearly shouted triumphantly as the lock unlocked itself. A few minutes later, the door of the cage was open.

We were free...

...for the most part. Now, we had to get out of this god-forsaken shack.

I looked around for an opening and found one in the nearby window.

It had wrought-iron bars on it, as if this had been a prison. I shuddered.

I climbed up onto the top of the cage and looked for any way up to it.

I found it in the nearby wooden-metal frame that this shack had, with the wood holding the metal as an internal frame.

A poorly constructed internal frame that was seen in all parts of the shack.

And a convenient escape route for us.

I began to climb up the frame, jumping from horizontal piece of wood to another, occasionally using a large splinter or a nail that wasn't nailed far enough in to get up higher.

And through this all, I was dragging Blossom up behind me. My bird cage made me do these things before I figured out how to fly (thank you, internet), but Blossom was born in the wild, and, without her wings, she couldn't navigate very well.

When I finally got up to the top, I looked down and saw Blossom dangling a foot below me. I looked at the wrought-iron bars and began to walk around one in a circle, the chain rising up as I continued, before Blossom got to the sill. When that happened, I began to unwind the couple of times I had to go around the bar.

When we were ready to go, I looked for a way down from the outside. I saw our chance with a vine that climbed up the side of the shack.

I made Blossom go first, as I would be able to catch her with my chain if she did fall, as she wasn't used to this climbing thing yet.

After about fifteen minutes, give or take, I reached the bottom, and Blossom was waiting for me.

I realized how much we stuck out in the wild. We were two birds, chained together, walking on the ground, wearing white jackets that kept us from flying.

We were completely screwed if we didn't find some safe haven for the both of us.

We began to walk away from the shack, hoping that nothing bad would happen to us on this horrible night.

About a half-hour later, Blossom asked me a question:

"What was your owner like?"

I froze, then began to ponder. I was in the lead, and Blossom stopped behind me as I thought.

Two minutes later, I found my answer.

"He was worth the whole damn lot of them."

We trekked on silently through the night, not knowing what would come next.


	2. The Sanctuary

Chapter 2: The Sanctuary

It was around noon of the next day before we reached anything of note.

Both Blossom and I were exhausted. We haven't slept since the night before the last, haven't been able to find any fresh water, and only found a few small things to eat.

If we didn't find anything soon, we were dead.

Well, either dead, or captured, which is what spurred us on for so long.

The jackets didn't help our situation, either. We couldn't fly, so we were stuck to the ground, which we didn't move very fast on, and they trapped heat way too well. I was burning up in the thing, and, looking at Blossom, she wasn't very comfortable, either.

But we finally found something of note.

Well, if you call "something" a wire and chain fence.

It looked at least twenty feet high, and went on through the forest in both directions, and we couldn't see the end of it.

I saw a sign nearby and looked at it.

"Blu Bird Sanctuary."

Sanctuary?

A bird sanctuary?

And why did they purposefully misspell blue?

That doesn't matter at the moment, though.

"We need to get to the other side of this fence as fast as possible," I mumbled to myself.

"What was that?" Blossom asked.

"We need to find a hole big enough for the both of us to fit through," I told her. "You know, you might be on the slim side, but my domesticated self is a bit chubby."

Blossom laughed and I smiled. Thus far, I was able to make my jokes, lame as they be, work in lightening the mood.

Even with this, a feeling of overwhelming fear and dread still hung over us, like a raincloud that never goes away. Fear that we would get caught again, and dread of what would happen afterwards.

So we pushed on, no matter the obstacle that we faced.

This was the reason that we are still alive, I feel.

We found a large enough whole practically right away, which we were both thankful for.

We got to the other side and continued to trek on, with the scenery being much the same as on the other side of the fence.

After walking for two more hours, we reached a stream, which we were unimaginably joyful about. We took turns drinking from the stream, with the other person looking out for any predators around.

We only stayed for about five minutes before continuing on. We wanted to keep moving to keep ourselves from being caught by any smugglers.

Being caught trespassing in federal lands is punishable by some large fine and a few years in prison, but for that to happen, you have to get caught, and, in this situation, the reward is way better than the risk.

And that sickened me.

We continued on, and the sun went down. We had to find shelter somewhere, and fast. I saw a tree hollow, and climbed up the tree to it, much to Blossom's annoyance.

But, then again, who does like being repeatedly slammed against a tree or dangling a couple feet off the ground, being unable to do anything when, usually, you can.

The hollow was, thankfully, unused, but was a bit small. We ended up having to sleep with one of us practically on top of the other.

It was not at all comfortable for either of us.

The next morning, we got out of the hollow, I lowered the both of us down, we stretched our stiff limbs, and headed out.

It was five minutes before my stomach started grumbling.

"Aw, shit," I murmured to myself, and Blossom stifled a giggle.

After that, Blossom showed me what wild Spix Macaws eat, what they don't, and what eats them. Well, for the last thing, she just told me about them, not actually showing me them.

That would've ended poorly.

We got on our way soon after that, still wanting to cover some more ground before midday.

And at midday, things got interesting.

We walked into a clearing, and I immediately got suspicious. Something wasn't right with this area.

Or, at the very least, there was something different about it.

Blossom must've felt it, too, as I noticed that she got closer to me. Unconsciously or not, she was using me as protection, as she was unable to do anything to any predators that appeared.

Of course, anything that I could do would be minimal, as well. But, I guess, I was the male, so I had to be a big boy.

God, I love being sarcastic. Or something like that.

We continued through the clearing before stopping in the middle.

I watched as Blossom looked around the clearing. Nothing seemed suspicious.

We continued forward and got to the other side of the clearing without a problem.

"It felt like someone was watching us," I whispered to Blossom.

She nodded. We kept moving.

It was around four when things between us completely broke down. We got into an argument over...something. I can't quite remember what it was.

"Come on!" Blossom shouted. "We have to keep moving!"

"Don't you think we've traveled far enough today?" I yelled back. "I think it's time we find somewhere to sleep for the night!"

Right. I wanted to stop, she wanted to keep going. That was the argument.

"That is completely idiotic!" Blossom shouted back. "What, are you a chick, and need rest every five minutes, always complaining that you don't get enough?"

"What the hell is up with you?" I yelled explosively at her. "I'm just trying to keep our sanity up and stress down by resting, and this argument isn't helping either of them."

What happened next was unexpected.

A pair of talons grasped my neck, and, the next second, I was in the air.

Blossom was as well, but she didn't seem very comfortable, swinging in the air below.

Of course, neither was I, with my throat being grabbed and it being very hard to breath.

I looked up to see who was trying to pick me up, and, by extension, Blossom as well.

It was a bird. A black and white bird of prey.

Fun.

I decided that, even though it would cause Blossom more discomfort, the best way to make him let go was through my own talons.

So I attacked him with my own.

With struggle, I was able to get my talons up to about his chest, to which I started stabbing him with them.

He squawked, then let go of me.

Welp, that problem is taken care of.

I looked down and saw a lake approaching quickly.

Oh, for fuck's sake!

We hit the water with a large splash, then propelled ourselves to the surface.

As in kicked our legs frantically trying to get air.

"Shit!" I yelled as soon as we got to the surface. "Can't swim!"

"Help!" I heard Blossom yell. "Help! Anybody!"

The chain wasn't helping the situation either. It was just dragging us farther down into the water, keeping us from staying at the top.

The jackets were going to be the death of us as well. They must have been cotton or wool or something, because they kept gaining water until they weighed at least three times that we did.

If nobody helped us soon, we were totally and completely screwed.

Of course, I didn't like that, so I tried my best to do what I felt like I could in the situation.

I tried to kick in the opposite direction of shore, just like I saw my owner do in the swimming pool.

Of course, I didn't have arms.

And I was basically wearing clothes.

And I never swam before.

I had no chance of making it.

Absolutely no chance.

"Roy!" I heard Blossom shout, though through ragged breaths. "Look up!"

I did so, and almost beamed at what I saw.

Two birds were flying our way.

Our last possible hope.

We _had_ to get their attention.

We started to yell louder, trying to get their attention.

I started to get weaker, my strength ebbing away. The adrenaline from seeing the other two birds was trying to help, but it wasn't enough.

My body was dropping lower and lower into the water, and I couldn't keep up shouting for long.

I decided that I would stop shouting to keep water from going down my throat.

Just as I decided that, a wave of water poured over the sides of my beak and down into my lungs.

I spluttered and coughed as I tried to remove the water from my lungs, but it just ended up making things worse, as water kept going down my throat.

A surge of panic entered my mind. I hated it when this happened. When this happened, my mind stopped thinking.

That was the only good thing that it does to me.

Instead of thinking, I'm doing. I'm doing what I can to survive, to keep myself awake.

When I panic, I lose what makes me _me. _Though I panic for a reason, I never like it.

It makes me feel weaker than I am.

It makes me feel _useless._

And that's exactly what I was at that point.

Incapable and useless.

When put up against a situation that I can't beat, my mind panics.

When my mind panics, I cower.

When I cower, I can't do anything.

And now is not the time to do nothing.

But it's no use. My head eventually falls under the water.

I look up and see the sun up in the sky, glistening through the water.

My lungs are begging me to swim up, to let me survive.

But I can't.

I'm useless.

If I can't survive for five minutes in a lake, how will I survive in the wild?

I guess I'm better off dead.

And, if I'm dead, I'll be able to see my owner again, at the very least.

With that thought in mind, I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I inhale.

Instead of water, air goes into my lungs.

I still feel the water in my lungs, and my breath stops.

I start coughing.

I feel pain on my left side, gravity acting its force on my body.

I'm alive.

_Alive._

But how?

How did I survive that?

I shouldn't be alive!

A voice.

Distant, but there.

How do I explain how it sounds?

Like an angel?

I guess that would be a good comparison.

The voice gets louder, and I hear others as well.

"Roy?" I hear the angelic voice question, worriedly. "Come on, Roy, wake up!"

"Is he alive?" I hear another voice, obviously male, ask.

"Of course he's alive!" the angelic voice snaps at him, venomously. "Roy wouldn't die this easily! And didn't you hear him cough a few seconds ago?"

"She has a point, Blu," another female voice told the male, obviously named Blu.

_That's funny,_ I thought to myself. _Why is he named a color._

I found this so funny, for some reason, and began to laugh uncontrollably, to such a point that I started to cry.

Even though my eyes were closed, I tried to stand up, even though I was still laughing.

I fell down the first time without even getting both my feet under me. All of the talking had stopped, and I felt all of their eyes on me.

But I didn't care.

I was having the time of my life.

I attempted to stand up again, and actually got both feet under me.

I couldn't stay balanced for long, and began to fall to my right.

Somebody caught me, though, so I didn't get very far.

"I guess this is what it's like to be drunk," I said. I recognized that my voice was slurred, and heard everybody else start to laugh, so I decided to laugh as well.

I tried to open my eyes, but had to close them due to the blinding light.

It took me a few minutes, but I was able to keep my eyes open without any problems.

I then looked around and saw who were most likely my saviors.

I guess that my mind was still delusional, because I felt no surprise when I saw two more Spix Macaws standing in front of me.

So much for a near-extinct species.

When I finally got my bearings, I realized that I was still leaning up against someone.

I felt like I knew who it was, but decided to turn to my right.

And saw Blossom's face only a couple inches from mine.

"Well, know that you have your bearings..." she said, and I got suspicious...

...before she roughly shoved me. I fell to the ground, but got up quickly, irritated at Blossom, before finding the humor in it and laughing.

Everybody ended up laughing with me, and I felt better.

At the very least, I could still make people laugh.

I was still a bit embarrassed at how I had to use Blossom for support, and even more embarrassed that I wouldn't have minded staying in that position for a while longer.

I shook my head before looking at the other two Spix Macaws.

There was the taller one, who had a vibrant blue color, and had orange eyes

The other one was shorter, had a more sky blue color, and had green-blue eyes.

Turquoise, I think the name is.

No, too blue of a color for turquoise.

Fuck it, I have no idea.

Now that we had a time to relax, I thought about how Blossom and myself looked to the other two.

Blossom had a light blue, not as light as the other female, but still light, and green eyes. She taller than the other female, but shorter than the other male.

Then, there was me.

I had a darker shade of blue than all the others, more hazel-colored eyes, and stood at least two inches taller than the other male.

I towered over all the others.

And, all of a sudden, I felt _very _uncomfortable.

Was I a freak?

They all had different colored eyes than me, not even close to what I had.

Mine were nearing brown, theres were orange and blue.

Was I unnaturally tall?

They all seemed so short in comparison to me.

Are my feathers darker than they are supposed to be?

How will I fit in?

How can I make this area into a new life for me?

I calmed my mind. I would be able to make this work.

My owner was always able to do this, and he was about as bad with these things as me.

I would be able to do this.

I hope.

I looked at Blossom, seeing of which of us were to talk first.

She looked at me, and I knew that she wanted me to talk.

So I did.

I looked at the other two macaws and attempted a personal thank-you.

"Thank you, very much, for saving us," I started. I thought about making a joke, but decided against it. "If it wasn't for you two, both of us might not be alive at the moment."

"It's not problem," the shorter one said. _So she's the other female_, I thought to myself, and then became even more embarrassed when I realized who the angelic voice from before was from. "We just happened to be passing by when we saw you two."

"May we get the names of our saviors?" Blossom asked, going along with how I talked. I was liking her more and more every day.

"Yeah, sure," the female bird said. "My name is Jewel, and his is Blu."

"Wait, Blu?" I asked. "As in, the name of the sanctuary?"

He looked abashed. "Well, yes." Blu then looked at me. "Wait, you can read?"

I nodded. "It's a good thing it's in English and not Portuguese, otherwise we would've gone right around it."

Blu chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing."

I had been listening very carefully to his voice. It seemed so familiar.

Then, I realized what it is.

I stepped forward to close the distance between us.

"You're not native here, are you?" I stated. His eyes widened and pupils shrank before he finally answered me.

"No, I'm not. How could you tell?"

"Your accent. It's Midwestern, not..." I thought for a few seconds. "...whatever the name of the accent is down here."

"So, how did you realize that he has a different accent?" Jewel asked.

"Well, I was trying to figure out what sounded very familiar to me, which had to be his accent," I answered. Looking back at Blu, I asked, "What state are you from?"

"Minnesota."

"Minnesnota?"

"What?"

"Don't worry about it, just a joke," I said. "Anyways, I'm from Wisconsin."

"Right next to Minnesota?"

"That's right."

"So you're domesticated as well?"

"Yup."

"Where's your..." he thought for a few seconds on what to call it. "...owner, then?"

My throat caught up, and my eyes started to water before I was able to answer him. "He's not...here anymore."

"You mean that he left you here?" Jewel asked.

"More like I left him," I replied.

Jewel looked at Blu before looking back at me. "He must've been horrible to you. Good for you for escaping."

I kept my expression on the outside, but, on the inside, I cringed.

That wasn't what I meant by that.

"Anyways, it looks like you two will still need some help," Blu said, breaking the tension. "We'll get some friends that we know and they can get you out of the mess that you're in."

"That would be great!" I said, speaking for both Blossom and I. "Thank you!"

"It may take a while for them to get out here, but, if you stay put, we'll lead them to you."

"Alright, we'll stay in the general area," Blossom stated, returning to my side.

"See you soon!"

And with that, they were gone.

I looked at the sky and saw the sun falling.

"Well, I guess we're staying," I stated.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

We said nothing but watched the sunset for the next five minutes before Blossom asked me another question.

"Why didn't you correct Jewel when she said that your owner was bad?"

I shrugged. "They didn't need to know what happened to him yet. Saying I left him when I liked to be with him was asking for trouble."

Blossom rolled her eyes before walking away. "Come on, we need to find a place to sleep."

I took one final look at the sunset before following her.


	3. The Hard Truth

Chapter 3: The Hard Truth

Soon after we had gotten up, we decided that the best place to go was back to the lake for Blu and Jewel.

After all, that is where we met them, one way or another.

Even though its been over twelve hours since we got back onto dry land, our "jackets" are still wet, and mine is making my body chilled.

But it may just be me.

How the hell am I supposed to know what Blossom is thinking?

I'm not psychic, you know!

Anyways, we went back to the lake and waited.

At the very least, there was water and food nearby, so we didn't have to go far to stay nourished.

When the sun reached zenith, we finally heard other voices. They got closer and closer before I could see who it was.

Blu and Jewel were flying in front of a jeep, which had three humans in it. Two were Caucasian, and the other looked, well, Brazilian, I guess.

I never did really have the time to hear what Blu and Jewel were saying as I watched the jeep barrel towards us.

Probably telling them to slow down.

Not that it would do anything. I mean, humans can't understand bird-speak, right?

Well, I guess that the older guy looks like he would try.

But that's not the point.

The point is that this jeep is screaming towards us with no signs of stopping.

"SHIT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "DUCK!"

I ducked as quick as I could, before looking over and seeing Blossom do the same.

The car started to slide to a halt as it went over us. The sound was deafening, and I know that I got some oil on me.

Well, at least we were alive.

Shaken, but alive.

Second near death experience in less than twenty-four hours.

How lucky can I get?

The jeep rumbled to a stop a few yards away, and Blu and Jewel landed next to us.

"Sorry about that," Blu said. "Linda was never the safest driver when going 'off-road,' as they call it."

I nod, completely understanding what he's saying.

After all, my owner never was the best driver.

Based on what Blu had been saying, I could recognize that the female stepping out of the car on the driver's side was Linda.

The other two, however, I had no idea.

One had a mad scientist look to him, yet without the hair that I would expect, and the other looked Brazilian.

Interesting.

The scientist was the first one to get over to us, even though he was the farthest away in the beginning.

He did seem very intelligent in his field, which appeared to be bird hospice.

I looked at the word that was on his name card. Ornithologist.

The study of birds on an explanatory basis, using scientific instruments instead of look.

I suppose that would entitle him to making decisions on health of birds.

Especially with the situation in Rio.

You know, with all of the smugglers.

I swear to god, if I meet those two that had us chained up again, I will rip their throats out.

And that's not overdoing it, either.

I will do it if I get the chance.

Anyways, the ornithologist picked both Blossom and I up in his hands.

Immediately, I could tell that he's done this before. He lived to care for the sick and injured, to do what he can to save every bird.

I knew that we were in good hands.

He looked us both up and down, and I started to get uncomfortable.

This was _very _weird, even for a guy who likes birds as much as this one apparently does.

"So," I heard Linda ask. "What are their names?"

"How am I supposed to know?" the ornithologist stated. "I'm an ornithologist, not a mind reader!"

I realized that, even though he spoke English, he still had a heavy Brazilian accent.

He then looked at us. "Besides, Spix Macaws are very intelligent. I'm sure they'll tell us after we get back to the lab."

We got carried over to the truck and were put in the back, next to the Brazilian boy. Blu and Jewel landed on the seat next to us, and we started to converse once more.

The Brazilian boy looked over to Jewel and Blu. "So, do you know these guys?" he asked.

I saw Blu give a kind of sideways shaking motion with his wing, which I knew humans used for "kind-of." The Brazilian nodded and left us alone again.

Before conversations started up again, I had to ask a question.

"What are the names of the ornithologist and the boy?"

"Well, if you saw that Túlio is an ornithologist, then you should've known his name before I just told you," Blu stated.

I was about to say something back, but realized that I couldn't. Why didn't I realize that his name was on his flipping business card name tag thing?

"And the boy is called Fernando," Jewel said. "He was an orphan that helped us escape from the smugglers that captured us."

"So, you guys too?"

"Yup," Jewel stated. "Blu actually used to be Linda's 'companion,' or a fancy name for pet."

"I would like to have you know, Jewel, that we relied on each other for many of the day's tasks, and that calling me a pet is incredibly undermining my self-confidence," Blu retorted, and I had to hold back a snicker.

Jewel rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "Calm down, brainiac, I'm only teasing you."

I had to laugh. It was like they were mates or something.

...

...

Wait a second.

"So, are you two in a romantic relationship with one another?" I asked.

Jewel just looked at me with an expression that told me that she had no idea what I had just said, and Blu looked slightly abashed.

"I'll just take that as a yes, then," I replied to their expressions.

I heard Blossom snicker, and Jewel groan. "Great," Jewel said. "Now I know two brainiacs. Will they ever shut up if they get into a good argument with one another?"

We all just laughed.

* * *

"Okay, so lets just remove those jackets first, and then we can look at you closer, and get those chains off of you," Túlio said, reassuringly.  


But I noticed an edge to his voice.

Something was wrong. There was something that he couldn't fix.

And I think I knew what it was.

I didn't say anything.

I didn't want Blossom to freak out right away.

She was, after all, only a couple of inches away from me.

So I said nothing.

I did nothing but what Túlio told us to do.

So, piece by piece, he removed the "jacket" from me, and then the jacket from Blossom.

It felt so completely refreshing.

I unfurled my wings and let them soak in the air...

...before a twinge of pain from my right wing caused me to flinch.

I looked it over and saw the bullet wound, still open, but not bleeding anymore.

It was an opening to a past I would always remember, but could never achieve again.

If the opening ever healed, there would be a scar there for the rest of my days.

It was something that _they _put there.

And I expected that I would be able to repay the favor.

But, for now, all I could do was grimace.

It wasn't healing anytime soon, that's for certain.

And, if it didn't heal anytime soon, I was stuck until it did.

Until I could fly once more.

Túlio looked at my wing and bit his lower lip.

"We'll check up on that afterwards," he stated after a few moments.

And then came the fun part.

They strapped us in so that we couldn't move and took out an electric saw.

And the instant I saw it, I realized that my suspicions from before were true.

They may get rid of the chains that bind us together, but they would never be able to get rid of the clamps on our legs.

It would always be a reminder of what had happened.

What happened to the both of us.

We would always be birds that were chained together.

All that these clamps would do is prove that fact.

And so, the sawing began.

Blossom was freaking out the whole time, more so when the saw got close to her legs.

They tried to take off the chains connected to the clamps so that we didn't make any noise as we were flying.

At the very least, that was successful.

But the noise.

_Oh dear god,_ _the noise._

Metal grinding metal is never a pleasant sound, but each time the saw came in contact with the chain, the noise would last for a minute.

And it had to do it for both sides of one chain link.

And for both sides of the chain.

A total of four minutes of agonisingly high screeches that never seemed to end, even after one was done.

Finally, it was over.

We were released, free from one another.

We were free for the first time in three days, we were free to do what we wanted!

...

Well, for Blossom.

For me, I immediately got my wing examined by Túlio.

His face didn't look too happy, and he told me to wait one moment.

A few minutes later, he came out and held out his hand, meaning that I was supposed to jump on.

Which I did.

He brought me into a room with this machine that I had never seen before and put a heavy blanket on my lower part of the body and face, being careful not to cover my wings.

I couldn't move, and he told me not to, and then, he left the room.

The machine started to make a weird noise. I felt like panicking, but stayed calm through this alien concept of treatment.

The machine stopped, and, a few seconds later, Túlio entered the room.

He removed the heavy blankets and picked me up.

"Congratulations!" Túlio said. "Not many birds keep their cool when they have an x-ray taken of them."

An x-ray? I've heard of those.

They're usually used to detect broken bones.

Or any bones at all.

This wasn't good if he was resorting to x-rays.

About thirty minutes later, the x-rays came out.

And Túlio was very displeased.

I looked at them. I could tell which one was my left wing, and compared it to my right wing.

There was one difference between the two.

One very large difference.

On my right wing, a whole bone was shattered.

It was in many pieces, and it would take a hell of a lot of work to put it back together.

And this just wasn't the place.

I realized what this meant.

I looked up at Túlio, hoping, _pleading _that everything would still be fine, that in a couple of weeks, I would be fit, that I could survive out in the wild.

But the look on his face shattered that dream as much as the bullet shattered my bone.

"I'm sorry," Túlio said, "but I'm afraid that you may never fly again."

* * *

I was placed inside of an artificial jungle and immediately found a way up into an artificial tree were I could climb into an artificial hole and build an artificial nest of sorts.

I was useless.

I hated being useless, but that's exactly what I was.

I couldn't do anything for myself.

I couldn't find a place to build a nest.

I couldn't get too much of the food that my species would normally be able to get, due to much of it being in the trees.

I was prey for anything else that went on the jungle floor.

I was useless.

I remember a quote that was like this from a book that my owner read for school. It was possibly the only book he liked in his...sophomore year of high school.

Liked it so much that, afterwards, he went out and bought it for himself.

The Great Gatsby.

Yeah, that's it.

Gatsby.

He believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.

It eluded us then, but that's no matter. Tomorrow, we will run faster-stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning...

So we beat on.

Boats against the current.

Borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Always looking at the past, never at the future.

That was Gatsby's downfall.

Focused too much on the past, not enough on the future.

I will try to avoid the problem that Gatsby faced.

He never gave up on looking at the past.

I can never look at the past again in the same light.

He never looked around to see what the present held for him.

I will spend every day looking at everything like I have seen it for the first time.

He never looked towards any future than the one that he wanted.

I will be prepared for any and all futures that my life may have for me.

If I can bend it in my favor, I will.

Which means that I will be doing some exercise tomorrow.

Trying to take back what has been taken away from me.

Trying to do what I can to revert the past, not go back to it.

I can never go back to the past.

But I sure as hell can change the future.

* * *

I looked out at the artificial forest once more.

The lights had been turned off, and it was approaching ten o'clock, yet I was not tired.

I was not going to be exercising, either.

I was here simply to think.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

I looked at my wing and swore. It still had the gauze from the attempt at letting the wound heal.

The wound would heal, but the bones may not.

I grimaced. I wasn't here to think.

I was here to clear my mind.

But I laughed at that thought.

My mind can never be cleared of thought.

Always thinking.

Always in motion.

Just like my body.

I sigh. I can feel my talons clicking along on the tree branch to the beat of the song in my head.

They never stop.

Voices in my head never stop talking.

Thoughts never stop coming.

They may be useless.

They may be inappropriate for the situation.

But they come all the same.

And I can't do anything about it.

I can't.

I just can't.

I can't.

Can't.

Can't.

...

Couldn't.

I couldn't do anything about it.

I couldn't save him.

It's all my fault.

If he never found me, he would still be alive.

It's my fault.

"It's my fault," I mumble, knowing that no one else is around.

"I couldn't save him."

"How can I live with myself?"

"I'm the one who killed him."

"I'm killing myself slowly."

"People need to stay away from me."

I begin to pace.

"I'm crazy."

"I'm crazy."

"I'm insane."

"Don't get close to me."

"I might lash out."

"Nobody understands."

"He understood."

"We were such great friends."

"We were afflicted with the same curse."

"Always thinking."

"Always moving."

"Just like me, his mind.

Never.

Stopped.

Talking."

"There is no cure."

"I'm far too intelligent for my own sake."

"I know what I'm looking at."

"I'm looking at my life, and how horrible it's going to be."

"I'm looking at a cage."

"A cage I entered, but will never leave."

"Just like my mind."

"Information enters."

"It never leaves."

"It just gets stored."

"Sometimes, it's in a back corner, waiting to be remembered."

"But it's there."

"I may not know it, but it's there."

"Waiting to come to light once more."

"I want to achieve something great."

"But how do I do so with my mind?"

"How do I do things I want to?"

"How do I survive with my limitations."

"I just want to fly away from my problems."

"How ironic is that?"

"You know what's more ironic?"

"A domesticated bird that could fly when he was owned but can't after he goes into the wild."

"Fuck me."

"Just my luck, is it not?"

"I'm very unlucky."

"I don't see everything clearly."

"I just want to stop."

"Stop everything once in a while."

"Stop my mind."

"Stop my life."

"Stop everything."

"I want to just relax."

"My mind doesn't allow that."

"Because my mind is a curse."

I'm silent for a few seconds, taking in what I had just said.

"But it's also a blessing."

"I don't need to be social to stay alive."

"I could be locked up, just like this, and be fine."

"Sure, it would be great to have someone to talk to, but I don't need it."

"I'm not that type of person."

"I love reading."

"I love destruction."

"But only in books, controlled, or games."

"If it involves actual life, I just want it to end."

"I find it funny that humans have an insult where they call others 'bird-brains,' meaning stupid."

"Many humans actually learned that birds are very smart."

"Just like me and my friends."

"How can I stop myself?"

"How can I help myself?"

I looked up to the ceiling, like it was going to answer me. Tears began to well up in my eyes.

"I'm useless."

"I'm _fucking _useless."

"I _hate _being useless."

"How can I help others when I can't even save myself?"

The anger ebbing into my voice dissipated as one final, broken call left my beak in little more than a whisper.

"Help me."

**Alright, that's a wrap for this chapter. Haven't done one of these in a while.**

**Yes, I like to do Author's Notes at the end and beginning of every chapter, but I felt that the story needed to keep moving, so I didn't waste my time.**

**Also, I don't think I'll do that many for this story, so don't expect any.**

**I wanted to put this in to explain a bit of the last rant, by Roy. You see, I like to put myself in as one of the characters in my story, so I try to have my drawbacks as well.**

**Also, the owner is supposed to be me. Yes, I live in Wisconsin, just north of Milwaukee. No, I don't own a bird, only a nine-year old yellow lab named Max. You will learn Roy's owner's name, and it will be close to my own, but I will not put my own in.**

**Anyways, back to the reason of the Author's Note.**

**Roy, like me, suffers from two mental disorders, which are a moderately severe case of ADHD, hence why he can't stop thinking and can't stop moving, and a minor case of Autism Spectrum Disorder, more leaning towards Aspergers. This is why he says that he has a higher intelligence than others (after all, I was a sophomore last school year, was taking an AP course and a senior course and had everything else honors, and got straight A's on my exams).**

**Let me tell you; this combination is hell on your mind.**

**You never stop connecting things. You never can clear your mind from thoughts, or, if you can, it takes way more effort than does a normal person.**

**Your mind is always active. There are nights when I go to bed with headaches because of how much I had thought of throughout the day.**

**You can never stay focused for that long on one thing. You're curious about everything.**

**You don't get social clues. Your friend group only grows out to about eight to ten people.**

**You don't have to be social in your life.**

**You miss obvious things, yet see things that nobody else does.**

**You're weird in the world.**

**You're different.**

**You may be crazy.**

**But you're also determined.**

**If you want to do something, you'll do it.**

**It's insane what happens to people when you look at them with a different lens.**

**With what I have, I don't see "normal" people.  
**

**I see everybody that is different from me.**

**I hold grudges.**

**I'm not perfect.**

**But you wanna know something?**

**I wouldn't want to be anybody other than myself.**

**I do sometimes think what Roy thinks.**

**But, then, I realize that I'm so much more than what I think of myself.**

**I realize that, if I don't exist, who will be there to fill my place.**

**If you keep copying others, you have two of one person and none of another.**

**If you become somebody else, who will fill your place?**

**Thank you, all of you, who have read this.**

**And, for the first time in a while from me, please review, and I hope to see you next time.**

**But, seriously, thank all of you who have read this so far. I'm trying to revitalize my writing part of my mind, so it warms me that I got so many views already.**

**Thank you, and read on!**


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